Sven Johne

Das sowjetische Hauptquartier. Filme 2006–2023
FLUENTUM

Using Film to Grapple with the Post-Socialist Era and the Transformation of the East

The universal yearning for change, the feeling of political impotence, and aspects of the past and present of East Germany are among the themes that Sven Johne (b. Bergen auf Rügen, 1976; lives and works in Berlin) explores in his art. Since the early 2000s, he has developed works in writing, photography, and video that examine the wounds of the post-Socialist era, always intertwining historical research with fictional narratives.

The sites where Johne’s most recent work was filmed and is presented are likewise defined by layered traces of history: in his new film Das sowjetische Hauptquartier (The Soviet Headquarters; 2023), a child’s idealized memories of life in the East collide with the terrors of actually existing capitalism. The footage was shot in the former Soviet headquarters in Wünsdorf; the film was shown in a building that was erected by the Nazis for the administration of the German air force, served the US forces in West Berlin as headquarters after World War II, and is now home to Fluentum.

Released in conjunction with this project, the catalogue surveys Johne’s work in film from 2006 to the present. It gathers a selection of screenplays—presented in the form of short stories—and contains a comprehensive index of his film and video works. In a conversation with Katalin Krasznahorkai, Johne explains the political realities underlying his fictional stories; an essay by Daniel Völzke retraces several major strands in his decades-long practice.